Tesla: Allegations of ‘Sabotage’ Further Muddy the Waters

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David Marino-Nachison

June 19, 2018 10:25 am ET

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In a bizarre twist to a stock story that is anything but ordinary, a number of news organizations reported Monday that
Tesla
(TSLA) CEO Elon Musk told employees via email that the company had been the victim of “sabotage” by a disgruntled employee.

A Tesla spokeswoman declined to answer several emailed questions about the matter from Barron’s Next; it did the same to Reuters and CNBC, who independently reported on Musk’s email. That left several questions, including steps the company might have taken to safeguard its products and intellectual property or the involvement—if any—of law enforcement, publicly unanswered.

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Musk’s email, meanwhile, leaves much to the imagination, including many details of the alleged sabotage—though, as reported, it says the employee sent “large amounts of highly sensitive Tesla data to unknown third parties.” (An earlier Musk email reporting on a factory fire that paused production was confirmed by the company to CNBC.)

While saying the employee claimed to act in response to being denied a promotion, Musk said the investigation is ongoing and then jumped back to a “long list of organizations that want Tesla to die.” He named short sellers and oil-and-gas companies as examples; the spokeswoman, via email, declined to discuss any evidence pointing toward the involvement of any particular accomplice.

More About Barron’s Next

“Is Tesla going to be the dominant force in the transport market or one of many actors? Our clients remain highly polarized,” Oppenheim analysts wrote Tuesday, “with the key theme whether or not Tesla can execute on a technology-driven innovation strategy in a capital-intensive, durable goods, safety-constrained end-market.”

Tesla’s stock was down more than 3% Tuesday morning, with other news—including reports out of China that the company stopped accepting custom orders there. Investors appeared concerned that U.S.-China trade relations were continuing to come apart, contributing to a broad early selloff that affected most of the Barron’s Next 50.

Tesla: Allegations of ‘Sabotage’ Further Muddy the Waters

In a bizarre twist to a stock story that is anything but ordinary, a number of news organizations reported Monday that Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk told employees via email that the company had been the victim of “sabotage” by a disgruntled employee.

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